Page 63 of The Ruse

Please don’t give me another reason to be afraid of Asher.

I was stuck in the cabin with him for the night and really didn’t want to be on edge the whole time.

“Yes,” Nash said. “I was actually hoping to ask you this when I got back to the cabin tonight but…”

Was he going to ask me to be his girlfriend?

Because, of course, my answer was yes.

He continued, “I got these really amazing tickets toThe Phantom of the Operaon Broadway next Saturday, and I was wondering if you would want to go with me.” He paused for a second before adding, “Like, on a date.”

A date to my all-time favorite musicalonBroadway? With the guy I had a huge crush on?

I didn’t even need to think about that.

“I would love to go,” I said. “I’ve always wanted to go to a Broadway show and that would be amazing.”

“You would?” he asked, sounding relieved, as if he’d actually been uncertain of what my answer would be.

“Yes, of course.”

“Awesome,” he said. “We’ll have our driver with us, too, since my parents don’t want me to drive into New York by myself. But I promise it won’t feel like he’s there.”

“I don’t mind,” I said.

“Awesome,” Nash said, and I couldn’t help but smile when I heard the excitement in his voice. “The plan is to leave here around three o’clock that afternoon so we can grab an early dinner first and then get to the theater.”

“Perfect,” I said. “I’m excited.”

“Me too.”

There was some chatter in the background that took Nash’s attention away for a moment, like Cambrielle and Ava were making fun of Carter about something.

“Anyway,” Nash said after their laughter died down. “I’m glad that you’re doing okay at the cabin. But if anything happens that makes you want to get out of there, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

“I will,” I said. “But I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

18

ELYSE

I pluggedmy phone back into my charger after finishing my call. Nash and I had ended up talking a little longer until Cambrielle and Ava heard I was on the phone. They stole Nash’s phone so we could talk about this debutante ball we were all planning to attend in New York over Christmas break. Apparently, my mom had finalized the designs for our gowns this morning.

Cambrielle and Ava told me that they had both already asked Mack and Carter to be their escorts for the ball and that Scarlett was going to ask Hunter tonight.

“Are you still planning to ask Nash?” Ava asked. “Because you know he’s probably going to be expecting it now that everyone else is going together.”

“I need to.” I sighed as a swell of anxiety filled me. “I’m just trying to figure out how to do it.”

I’d never asked a guy out before, and while I was pretty sure Nash would say yes—since he’d just asked me on a date a few minutes ago and he’d already be at the ball with his family—it was scary to put myself out there.

“Just don’t wait too long,” Ava said. “Guys like being chased too.”

Ava then told me that Brendon had called to invite us to dinner and Yule-tree decorating with him and Mack the next evening. Before I knew it, an hour had ticked by.

I hoped Asher would still be waiting for me downstairs so we could finish the conversation we’d started about his family and the dynamics of it, but instead of finding him sitting at the counter where I’d left him, he was at the sink washing the last of the dishes.

“Hey,” I said in as friendly of a tone as I could manage. “Sorry about that. I didn’t expect them to want to talk for so long.”

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